Comedians Pay Tribute to Jerry Lewis: “The French Were Right About Him All Along”

Jerry Lewis attends the Jerry Lewis hommage and Max Rose premiere at the Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2013, in Cannes, France.

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Legendary comedian Jerry Lewis, known for his slapstick and, later in life, his philanthropy, died Sunday morning of natural causes. He was 91. With a career that spanned almost the entire length of his life, it didn’t take long for his fellow comedians to take to social media to mourn the loss of the man many described as an inspiration.

Penn Jillette wrote a series of tweets honoring the late comedian, emphasizing his larger-than-life persona and what he means to comedians everywhere. “We will miss Jerry so much,” Jillette wrote in one of his tweets. “I can’t believe I got to meet him and spend time with him.”

Jon Cryer also took to Twitter to recognize that whatever anyone thought of Lewis personally, his influence was undeniable: “If u are in comedy, you’ve been influenced by him, whether u know it or not. RIP.”

Sean Hayes chose Instagram to pay tribute to “one of my comedy heroes” who was “a gigantic inspiration.” Hayes, like many of his colleagues who paid tribute, expressed gratitude “to have shared some valuable time with him.”

Rose Marie, who starred in the Dick Van Dyke Show, got a bit personal in her tribute, writing that Lewis “was an angel to me” and she “will never forget what he did for me during one of the worst times in my life.”

Jerry Lewis was an angel to me. Loved him & will never forget what he did for me during one of the worst times in my life. RIP, Love Roe pic.twitter.com/0OoQV4yaae